FAQ

Rehabilitation teaching in the home or intensive training at the Nebraska Center for the Blind in Lincoln

independent travel using a white cane

braille

home management

apartment living

adaptive technology for computer access

woodworking

public transportation

community access

Assistance in securing or maintaining employment

Career counseling and guidance

Transition services

Many other specialized programs are also available

Each program is developed to meet the personal needs of our clients. Services also include assistance in obtaining items that aid with regular daily activities such as talking clocks, magnifiers, white canes, cane tips, etc.

To qualify for NCBVI services the individual must have sight which is so defective as to seriously limit his or her ability to engage in the ordinary vocations and daily activities of life. The individual must reside legally in Nebraska. The individual must require services to achieve their vocational or independent living goals.

Services are available regardless of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state law.

If you or someone you know is experiencing significant vision loss, contact us at one of our five offices for an assessment of your eligibility. Here is the link for our office contact information. http://www.ncbvi.ne.gov/contact.html

You may request services for another person by calling us toll free at 1-877-809-2419 or by calling your local NCBVI office. The information is given to a counselor, and the counselor will call to make arrangements to meet with the individual who was referred. The counselor will generally call within two weeks.

NCBVI does not provide eyeglasses. However, your local chapter of the Lion's Club may offer financial assistance to receive proper eyeglasses and eye care for preventable blindness. The Lion's Club also takes donations of old eyeglasses, drop boxes can be found at most eye doctor's offices. In some communities, some retail stores may have drop boxes for used eyeglasses. Please contact your local Lion's Club for details.

The Library of Congress has created a list of organizations that create Braille greeting cards. Hallmark and American Greeting cards sell Braille greeting cards that are available in most retail stores.

Large print phone books are not available for the visually impaired. However, a counselor can help you fill out a Directory Assistance Telephone Exemption which allows you to call the operator for a phone number or direct dial free of charge.

As of this writing, Apple's iOS, which runs on its iPads, iPhones, and iPods has the most robust accessibility solution. VoiceOver will allow you to read screen contents and interact with them through gestures you make on the touch screen. This works with all of the apps and functions that come with the device and with a majority of the apps that you can download, free or paid, within the App Store. Google's android operating system also has some accessibility features, however, the technology staff at NCBVI does not find them to be as user friendly as Apple. The same can also be said of Windows Phone. You might find the following accessibility contacts for popular phone carriers in Nebraska helpful:

Both PC's and Macs have screen access software for reading onscreen content, or screen magnification software for enlarging screen contents. The system you choose depends a great deal on what you are familiar with, and what your intended use is for the system. The amount of local expertise to assist you when problems are encountered is also an important part of the decision process. Our technology specialists can assist you in examining computer hardware and software to determine what is right for your individual situation.

Absolutely. As with the mobile phone market, we find that Apple's various iPad tablets are the best end-to-end, turnkey accessible devices for blind and low vision users. If you want to use a tablet that runs Microsoft Windows 10, screen reading software like JAWS and NVDA have numerous keyboard commands for navigating the environment and touch screen gestures for screen review nonvisually as well. Recent developments in Amazon Kindle FireOS 5 and later have added more robust accessibility to the Kindle Fire line of tablets.

The Client Assistance Program (CAP) is a neutral agency available to help you with any questions or concerns regarding your services with NCBVI. CAP will work with you to help answer any of your questions and help resolve your concerns by talking with you and your counselor. You can contact CAP at 800-742-7594 or (402) 471-3656 and ask for Victoria Rasmussen.